ABSTRACT
The early years of the 21st century have been uncomfortable ones for many of the world’s major airlines. The downturn in demand for air travel that followed the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, coupled with intensive competition – especially from new entrants based on the ‘low-cost/no-frills’ model – resulted in several years of severe losses. The Iraq war and the SARS epidemic further suppressed demand while high fuel prices, magnified by the weakening economic conditions in many Western economies lead to little optimism at the time of writing either.
